


Hands Off

by Rainboq



Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: Attempted Sexual Assault, Dismemberment, F/F, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Implied/Referenced Sexual Assault, Max Can't Talk to Women, Max never went to Blackwell, Maxine "Max" Caulfield Still Has Powers, Rachel Amber Lives, Serial Killer Max Caulfield, Sexual Assault, established amberprice
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-20
Updated: 2020-07-20
Packaged: 2021-03-04 18:47:26
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,407
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25401097
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rainboq/pseuds/Rainboq
Summary: Max Caulfield has taken it upon herself to use her powers to take revenge upon men who feel they can touch women with impunity.Now if only she could talk to women.
Relationships: Maxine "Max" Caulfield/Chloe Price, Rachel Amber/Chloe Price
Comments: 28
Kudos: 49





	Hands Off

**Author's Note:**

> With apologies to everyone.

I’ll never forget the first time a man touched me after I said no and I don’t think he will either. If he could even remember anything at all. That day I learned I had a special gift, a power, to let me right the wrongs done to women like me. My sole crime in that instant was that I wasn’t interested in men, and he tried to change that.

It was towards the end of high school. I was at a party, utterly failing to flirt with this really cute punk girl. I don’t think I ever got her name, or much of anything besides a laugh at my stammering. Then her boyfriend or something decided to make himself known, and he asked me if I wanted _both_ of them.

That day I learned nobody really cares, that I have to take matters into my own hands, if I really wanted to make things right. So, I did what I had to. I took his hands off me.

Off of him too, along with some other things.

Since then I’ve been keeping an eye on girls like me, making sure men like him get what’s coming to them.

I’m kept busy.

College was when it really started to pick up pace, I ended up at UCLA and the frat boys were utter pigs. I had thought the high school boys were bad, but they were nothing. They were just desperate idiots. College had _predators_ , entire frat houses of accomplices doing it again and again. So many things slipped into drinks. So many just not listening when someone said no.

I did what I could for as many as I could, but I just couldn’t keep up with it all.

The police didn’t help either. They were happy to ignore the girls, but when creeps started showing up missing hands and heads, THEN they cared.

They’re no better than the frat boys.

I was at the end of my rope; I couldn’t protect them all. Even with my power I only had so much time. I was running myself ragged trying to protect everyone, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t be at every party and every club in LA. I was fighting a losing battle, struggling to keep up when I found _her_. The girl who had been haunting my dreams since junior high. The one I’d left behind to an unknown fate. She’d changed a lot, her hair was vibrant blue, she was covered in tattoos and piercings, her face set hard, I could hear her sharp tongue over the heavy pounding of the bass. But she was still her. She was with another woman, a blond who had not a single care and danced like she owned the world. I saw them touching each other but it was okay, she looked happy.

Then I saw a man touch her. She lashed out and they got into a fight. The bouncer kicked him out, and I followed. I knew what I had to do; I knew I had to make him pay. It was so easy, he was just standing here, smoking and grumbling under his breath. I took a moment to make myself a little more enticing. I pulled my loose top down a bit, took a moment to fix my lipstick and then stepped out into the cool night air. He spared me a glance and gave a grunt. _Classy._ “Hey, I saw what happened, what a bitch.”

His Cro-Magnon face turned and he nodded. “Yeah. Fucking dykes.”

“Bitches don’t know what they're missing.”

That got his attention, he stubbed out his cig on the wall. They’re always so. Fucking. Easy. “Fuck yeah they don’t.”

“Why don’t you show me?”

“Heh, sure thing little lady, where do you want to go?”

Same fucking story with these creeps. Like greasy puppets on strings. “I like taking risks, there’s an alley just over there.”

“Damn girl, fucking show me.”

And like that, his fate was sealed. He was a big guy, he probably thought he was safe. A big hairy gorilla of a man who felt like girls should throw themselves at him for a single word spoken to them. I lead the way, making sure to add a bounce in my step to shake my little ass. The dumber I had him, the easier it was.

And god he was _dumb_. He didn’t even ask a question, no names, just walked right into that side alley with a locking gate that nobody could see through. He didn’t even know what happened. I entered the stillness, put on my gloves and my knife left my purse.

“For real! I don’t know fucking shit! He grabbed my ass, I shoved him off and then we went right home! I can show you the fucking uber ride.”

“Ms. Price, you’re the last known person he interacted with besides the bouncer.”

“So, you think _I’m_ the fucking Hand Taker?”

“Please, ma’am, we’re just trying to reconstruct what happened.”

“I fucking told you! And you’ve got to have the security footage.”

“The video was wiped. We checked.”

“W-what?!”

“There’s nothing, someone went and deleted all the video for that night.”

“S-shit.”

“So please, tell us what happened one more time.”

Three hours later she walked out of the interrogation room and sat down heavily in a chair. “Hey Rach.”

“You okay Chlo? You should have had a lawyer.”

“We can’t fucking afford one. And they don’t think I did it anyways.”

“What… happened?”

“The fucking Hand Taker happened.”

Rachel’s eyes went wide. “W-what?”

Chloe sighed, her head falling into her hands. “He was a fucking creep and an asshole, but someone fucking _killed him._ Nobody saw what happened and someone got rid of all the security footage. It’s fucking insane.”

“What are we going to do?”

Chloe sagged and Rachel pulled her in close. “They think we’re safe, they only target men with a history of sexual assault or date rape.”

“I fucking know _that._ The avenging angel or some shit. Remember when they found a different member of that frat house every day?”

“God, I know, that was fucking horrific.”

“But like, what are _we_ going to do? A guy was just fucking murdered. We really should get a lawyer.”

“… Fuck, we could like, talk to your dad?”

“LA isn’t his fucking jurisdiction!”

“Maybe he knows a good lawyer around here, in case they try to pin this on me or something.”

“Let’s go home and give him a call.”

“… Yeah, I need a hot fucking shower after that.”

“Take all the time you need babe.”

Sawing through bone is tough work, my arms and back ache from it. But my work isn’t done. His head is in the dumpster, but the hands need their own home.

Sometimes I feel bad for the cops, the stillness just isn’t fair. I don’t have a drop of blood on me. Nobody sees me tuck the plastic bag with his hands into my purse. Time is frozen as I walk a few blocks away from my latest piece. I release the stillness and call for an uber. Easiest alibi ever. I was a few blocks away at the exact instant of his murder.

I know Chloe will get picked up for this, but she’ll get off. She wasn’t here, she’ll have her own alibi for all the others. Besides, I just did her a favour. I removed this stain from her life, from all our lives. He can’t hurt another girl again. My ride takes me to my apartment and I step out and wave him off, before entering the stillness again and walking a few more blocks to a dumpster. With my gloves back on I dump the hands into a torn garbage bag and walk back. To any observers, I haven’t gone anywhere.

I let the hot water soothe the aches from my labours. There’s no guilt to wash away, no blood. Only the deep aches of my muscles and the pounding in my head. I was pushing it, being in the stillness that long, but it’s not as hard as it used to be. And a few times I’ve come close to getting caught without using it.

I step out into the steaming air of the bathroom and brush my teeth, my thoughts fixed on her. She’s here, in this city.

Oh god, how am I going to say hi?

**Author's Note:**

> I have no idea if I'll continue this fic, this was a weird experiment coming off a prompt from a couple friends on a writing server. Blame them for this.
> 
> Loved it? Hated it? Let me know in the comments.


End file.
